“You could never fuck things up with me, JP. Even if we don’t go back down this road. Or if… hopefully,” I poke his cheek, looking for that dimple that makes me melt and sure enough, he smiles and it pops out. “We do. It wouldn’t ruin anything between you and me.” He doesn’t say anything, he just continues to look straight ahead as he pulls into the parking lot of the small coffee house that serves the best breakfast sandwiches in town. “Didn’t you like kissing me?”

“Too fucking much. I can’t get it out of my head. Or your body on top of me, humping me.” He rubs his forehead. “How did we… Where did you…” He rubs his forehead before looking over at me. He unashamedly runs his gaze over my bare legs and up to my face meeting my eyes. “You are unbelievably sexy, Whitney.”

I beam under his praise. “Thank you.”

“And I just don’t know where that came from. How you went from this young girl who I used to drive to soccer practice and pick up from school when your parents were out of town to this.” He sighs. “I sat awake last night actively telling myself not to text you to come back down.”

“I would have come running.” I look up through the sunroof of the car and up into the clear, bright sky. “Pun intended?”

He chuckles and shakes his head before putting the car in park and turning it off. “What am I going to do with you?” I start to respond with something cheeky and flirty when he puts a hand up. “Do not answer that.” He stares out the window, his face getting more serious before he starts to speak. “In all honesty, how did this happen? These feelings for me? Did I do something? I swear I—”

“No, Jacob…” I say, the word feeling foreign as I’ve always called him JP. “It just happened.” I contort my lips trying to prevent myself from tearing up. “You just always looked out for me. You were always there in ways my dad and my brother weren’t. You were the person I could talk to. The person I could be myself with, tell my thoughts and feelings and fears to and you never judged me or made me feel bad about anything. You were always the one person I knew I could count on, and also the one that would never ground me. So, you were different than my parents even though you all seemed to think you were.” I roll my eyes. “I know it’s big, JP and I totally understand if you can’t or don’t want to.”